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Auto Q & A
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Posted by editor Wed Apr 19, 2006 11:35:43 PDT
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0 responses 1 comment  Dear Q & A: I saw an article recently about a family that used “cleaning solvent” in their gas tank during World War II, when gas was rationed, to let them drive across country. Sounds like a clever way to stretch the wartime fuel allowance. Was it?

Dear Curt: If you had only an “A” sticker on your windshield, as most civilian drivers did during that period, you were permitted to buy only four gallons a week with your A coupons. For city dwellers, who had public transportation, that may have sufficed, but for many others it was far too little.

So some daring people bought petroleum naphtha, then used mostly for dry cleaning, to add some miles to their week. It was unrationed and readily available, but relatively expensive, at 50 cents per gallon, from nearly any hardware store, at a time when regular gas sold for less than half that.

Naphtha’s main drawback was that it lacked tetraethyl lead, the anti-knock compound then contained in automotive fuels. Remember “leaded” gasoline?

Naphtha worked, sort ofthe less added to your gasoline, the less destructive to your engine — but at a price. That persistent “pinging” or “knocking” sound described in the article you referred to was the death rattle of the author’s engine, because he was using pure naphtha.

Dear Q & A: I want to make my older (’97) Celica coupe into a real attention grabber without going to a lot of expense or trouble. I’ve seen ads for kits that convert doors into “suicide” doors or even better, into “Lambo” doors, which hinge out and up like the ones on some six-figure Italian sports cars. Is this a reasonable idea? I’m fairly handy with tools, but mostly in carpentry and woodworking.

Dear Robert: The reason cars don’t have rear-hinged or “suicide” doors any more is pretty well spelled out in their nickname. They’re dangerous. If accidentally opened while the vehicle is traveling at highway speed, death or serious injuries can result. That aside, there does seem to be some interest (mostly among the young and reckless?) in such conversions, which range in cost upward from three to four hundred dollars just for the hardware.

 Unless you’re experienced in auto body and collision repair work (with metal, not wood), you might find yourself unable to complete such a conversion on your own.

“Lambo” door projects are considerably tougher and some makes and models just don’t lend themselves structurally to re-hanging big, heavy two-door doors in this way.

The potential “cool” factor may be far outweighed by costs, engineering headaches and unsatisfactory operation once you’ve finished.

Give it some thought, okay?

Dear Q & A: This is not a question, just sort of a lament. In about 1976, I bought a 1965 Mustang convertible with a 289 V-8 engine and three on the floor stick shift. When we had the 1977 Arab oil embargo, I got worried about having a V-8, what with long lines at gas stations and gas prices creeping up toward 50 cents a gallon. So I unloaded the Mustang, feeling lucky to get the $300 I had paid for it. Smart move, eh? It still bothers me. 

Dear B&W: Yep, one of those “smart” moves that smart later on. You should have kept it under a blanket in the garage so you could sell it today for $20 grand, more or less, depending on condition. If we’d only known how those old clunkers were going to appreciate! You’ve got a lot of company. Too many of us rue the day we “gave away” a car that today is a big-bucks classic.

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Comment From: dhall

I wish I had a '97 anything as my old car. My newest (and only) is a '94. My husband drives that since it is a small pickup and won't hold both kids. I'm stuck with a borrowed 1983 Subaru station wagon to haul the kids around in and to go to and from work. Thank God my parents keep everything or I wouldn't have even that to drive. WOW, some people are lucky.